Second man charged in dumping of body

A second person was charged Tuesday with dumping the body of a man found dead last week in a Warren field, police said.

David Louis Elias, 54, of Eastpointe, was arraigned on one count of removing a dead body without the permission of a medical examiner, a misdemeanor punishable by up to one year in jail, Warren police Detective Cpl. Kevin Dailey said. Elias also was charged in 37th District Court with possession of heroin, police said.

Officers in the Warren Police Departmentís Special Operations unit arrested Elias on Monday night outside his home. Earlier in the day, his son, Jordan Hill Elias, 22, of Harrison Township, was arraigned on the same body disposal charge.

The body of Jack Ralph Jackson, 45, was found by a passerby in the early afternoon of June 11 on Edom Avenue, near Groesbeck Highway and Eight Mile Road.

An autopsy revealed no signs that Johnson, believed to be homeless, fell victim to foul play. Pending the result of toxicology tests, officials suspect he may have overdosed.

Video from external security cameras outside a business provided a key break for investigators. Police noticed the cameras and asked the business owner to retrieve and watch the video.

Detectives said the video showed a Hyundai GX350 arriving at the scene. Two men exited the car, pulled the body from the trunk, left Johnson in the grass and fled the scene.

Johnsonís family was shown an image of the car and told police it belonged to one of his friends.

Officials believe Jackson died approximately 12 to 18 hours before his body was found. Initially, investigators did not know why he was in the area. Jackson had a Florida driverís license and a SMART bus ticket in his possession, police said.

Jackson was fully clothed and had personal identification at the time he was found, Warren Detective Cpl. Kevin Dailey said. There was no indication he was robbed.